RWBY Reforged
by Kung-fu Blaziken
Summary: Heroes fall, only to rise again, stronger than before. After the fall of Beacon, is this adage true? It must be; we need them to hope again.


So, this has been on my mind for a while. Call it wishful thinking in the wake of the Volume Three finale. For those of you who have read my notes on my other RWBY story, this is the idea I hinted at working out. And to be perfectly honest, I'm surprised it took this long. My muse for this stopped and started, I ended up adding or cutting a few ideas, Penny got more screen time than I expected, the conversation between Weiss and Winter ending being MUCH longer than I expected (especially the Frederick Douglass expy, from whom I used a quote), Blake's realization and surge of courage ended up shorter than I expected...you know, I think you all get the idea.

The irony that this is being posted shortly after the first news of the upcoming RWBY Volume Four came out is not lost on me. I swear, I didn't plan that.

With all that said, welcome my friends to a little something I call...

* * *

 **RWBY Reforged**

"What the hell am I even still doing out here?"

Blake gazed off into the distance, the silhouette of the Grimm Dragon on Beacon Tower visible in the setting sun. Months since the fall of Beacon, and the visual still never failed to put a chill in her heart.

She turned away and jumped across rooftops, heading back to the abandoned apartment she had set herself up in. The majority of Vale had fled in the wake of the Grimm invasion, only a minority of brave, or perhaps foolish, souls willing to stay.

"I wonder what that says about me?" Blake muttered as she slipped through the window, "Am I brave or foolish?"

Her eyes came down on a photograph, one of the few pieces of personal effects she had smuggled out of the school when all the Grimm were asleep.

"Oh right. A coward."

The picture was of her team, taken on a lighter day. As she picked it up and examined it, she wondered where it all went wrong.

They looked so happy in the picture. Yang had her arms around Blake and Ruby, squeezing them tightly and openly laughing. Weiss was slightly off to the side, but her hand was on Ruby's shoulder, and she had a small smile on her face. Ruby's grin was so big that it threatened to split her face in two. Blake was leaning into the embrace, and while not normally a fan of getting her picture taken, she was enjoying herself.

Blake sniffed and shook her head.

"I can't…not after…I just can't…"

She set the picture face down and tried to walk away, but a little part of her mind just wouldn't let it go. She felt a prickling on her skin, as if her body was remembering what it felt like at that moment, the strength and warmth of the embrace. But then she would remember what happened to the arm that had hugged her, remember it lying limp and lifeless on the ground, its owner not too far away, unconscious and vulnerable.

Blake squeezed her hands into fists, feeling her nails biting into her palms. One thought swam to the front of her mind.

' _And it was MY fault.'_

She could still smell the ash in the air, hear the crackle of the burning school, feel the pain of her wounds…

Hear the scream of pure rage from her friend, the evil chuckle of her insane old flame, and the sound of a sword cutting through flesh and bone.

There had been no blood, Yang's strong aura had sealed with too wound quickly, but in her nightmares, she could see it wetting the floor, smell the coppery tang in the air, feel the cloying warmth as it splattered across her body.

Blake unsuccessfully fought down a shudder. She replayed the events of her battle with Adam and its tragic finale every night in her dreams, and each time, there was just a little something different. For example, one night, there would be no sound but the voices, another night the breaths and screams would overtake everything.

Last night was the worst. Adam had aimed just a little higher, and took more than just Yang's arm…

Blake put a hand against the wall to steady herself. After waking up, screaming Yang's name, she had stayed in bed for a good part of the day, curled up and shuddering. It had all seemed so real, like it had actually happened and the actual memories had been the dream.

And to top it all off, Adam had spoken, flicking blood of his sword and grinning like a madman.

" _You should have known better than to leave your heart open to others, darling Blake. You can never escape my grip, not even in death…"_

And that was why Blake had fled, why she had fallen back into cowardice and ran away like the frightened cat she was.

Because deep down, she knew that Adam wouldn't stop. He would never stop until everything around her, everyone she knew and loved, was dust and blood. And as much as it hurt her to run, as much as it no doubt hurt her friends that she had vanished like she had, at least they were _alive_.

As Blake crawled into bed, muscles finally relaxing after a day of activity, she took a shaking breath.

"I want to…I want to go back…but I can't…I just can't…"

It took time for her to fall asleep, still muttering the mantra to herself, but the last thing she saw as her eyelids closed was the golden color of her ceiling.

Gold…like her…

' _Yang,'_ she whispered in her mind, _'I'm so sorry.'_

 **oOo**

The Grimm-like visage of Adam's mask had grown to encompass his whole body that night. And Blake had been forced to watch as he killed and brutalized Yang before turning his attention to her.

" _Naughty Blake ran away. Naughty Blake needs to be punished. Naughty Blake must remember her place._ "

Blake awoke screaming, the phantom pain of claws and teeth still present. She spent an hour crying in her bed, wishing that the events of the past two months were just a bad dream, and that she'd wake up in her old dorm, Yang standing over her whole and healthy, eyes filled with worry and care as she gently shook her awake.

But as she stood in the rooftops, breathing in the morning air and taking in the sight of fallen Beacon in the distance, Blake was once again reminded that, as much as she wished with all her heart and soul otherwise, _this_ was reality.

Blake dashed about the city, keeping an eye on Grimm and their movements, and for some reason, this morning, the chill of loneliness was inescapable.

Her mind flashed to a forest, darting through it on the hunt for Grimm. She could see a streak of blonde, hear a hearty chuckle.

" _Thought you said you were fast, Blakey?"_

Her musings were cut off by a cry from down below, and she peered over the edge of the roof to see a pair of Beowolves had come across a little girl.

Deciding not to risk a direct confrontation, in case more Grimm were nearby, Blake cast Gambol Shroud in its chain scythe mode out over the rooftops, where it caught on the rigging of a water tower. She then swung down and grabbed the girl, the momentum of her fall causing them to arc back up. Blake landed on a fire escape and hoisted the girl into the roof, the Faunus scrambling up afterward.

Blake snuck a glance at the Beowolves, who seemed more confused than anything else, before one gave a huff and turned away, its fellow soon following.

"So, what are you doing out here so far from the safe zone?" Blake asked the girl.

The girl sniffed and gazed up her with sad eyes.

"I had a fight with Mommy. I ran away."

Blake could _taste_ the irony.

"Are you gonna yell at me for running?" the little girl asked.

"If I did, I'd be a hypocrite," Blake replied, "Honestly, I'm running too."

"From what?"

"Everything," she answered before taking a deep breath, "Let's get you home."

The walk was a short one, as the girl's mother lived in the safe zone. Blake happened upon a police officer on guard, and explained the situation. The officer directed them to the station that all the officers and Hunters defending the zone were working out of, and Blake led the girl there, keeping a tight grip on her hand.

They were just about to enter the building when a call rang out.

"LAPIS!"

The girl twisted about and gave a cry of joy, tearing away from Blake.

"MOMMY!"

The girl leapt into her mother's arms, and the sound of tearful apologies filled the air. Blake observed this, a pang of want in her heart. If only something like this could happen with her. If only…

But it couldn't. She had been burned before, and knew she might not survive it a second time, never mind the fact that a logical part of her brain was telling her that Yang would never do what _he_ did.

Blake shuddered a bit, breaking off the train of thought, and turned to leave.

"Wait."

She stiffened, and looked back at the woman, who was now keeping her daughter held against her chest with one arm, and reaching out to Blake with the other.

"Thank you for finding my daughter."

"It's no trouble," Blake said, "I was around."

"It's more than that. Lapis is my whole world. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Is there anything, anything at all, I can do for you."

"Really, ma'am, it's not a that big a-"

A loud growl pierced the air, and both were struck silent.

"When was the last time you had a full meal?" the woman asked.

Blake just looked away, slightly embarrassed, then stiffened slightly at the hand suddenly grasping hers.

"Well, come on then. It's the least I can do."

"I don't want to impose."

"I _insist._ "

"Please?" little Lapis asked, eyes big and dewy, "No one's tummy should make that sound."

Blake eventually relented, and followed the woman, who introduced herself as Crystal, to a small apartment building.

As Crystal warmed up some leftover soup, Blake examined the tiny apartment. The place was Spartan, but Blake's eyes were drawn to the mantle. Hung above it was a beautiful and dangerous looking sword. On the mantle itself was a lit candle and a picture frame, depicting the woman and her daughter next to a large man.

"Lapis' father," came Crystal's voice, "He died a few months back. I wonder sometimes if he could have done something during the Fall of Beacon. He was a Hunter, much like you."

Blake turned, a questioning grunt on her lips.

"It's in the way you walk. I could tell almost instantly."

She pressed a warm bowl into Blake's hands, and bid her to sit down on the couch. They ate in silence before Blake broke it.

"I'm not a Huntress…not anymore."

"I don't think that's something you just stop being," Crystal replied, "Robert tried for a while after Lapis was born, but he eventually went back to it. He called it something that stays with you, that can't be fully shaken no matter what you do."

"You saved me," Lapis piped up, "That something a Huntress would do, right?"

"Would a Huntress also run away after hurting their friend?" Blake muttered, but Crystal caught it.

"What happened, young lady?" she asked in a tone that brooked no argument.

Blake flicked her eyes towards Lapis and shook her head.

"I can't say. It's…not a nice story."

"This is one of those grown-up things I'm not supposed to hear, isn't it?" Lapis asked, "I'll be in my room then."

The little girl took her soup and left, and Crystal stared at Blake, eyebrow raised in expectation.

Blake took several deep breaths before speaking.

"I wasn't always a Huntress. Once upon a time, I ran with a bad crowd. I got in deep, and it took a long time to claw my way back out. I became a Huntress to do some good, to make up for everything…"

Blake set her soup down and wrung her hands, not sure how to proceed.

"The past came back to haunt you, didn't it?"

"I didn't realize how far he had fallen, not back then. I do now, but I could never have guessed, couldn't have imagined…"

Blake squeezed her eyes shut, then felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Someone got hurt because of this man from your past, and you blamed yourself."

It took a long time for Blake to answer.

"Yang lost an arm…I promised that my past wouldn't haunt my friends, but I couldn't stop it…couldn't stop her from being hurt…"

"Your friend, Yang. Does she blame you?"

Blake looked up, eyes wet with unshed tears.

"Well, does she blame you?" Crystal pressed.

"I wouldn't know…I ran as soon as I could…it's all I'm good at…running."

"And you've been running since."

"I've tried to find answers, tried to make sense of everything that happened the day Beacon fell, but I keep getting more questions…"

"And none of the answers that _you_ need," Crystal finished, "Well, I can't speak for your friend Yang, but based upon what you know about her, is she the type to hold a grudge?"

Blake was silent for a while, thinking.

"Not by much. She can be an angry person, but her fuse burns hot and short. Otherwise, she's…nice. Warm and friendly. She's a good friend. Maybe my best friend."

"Then I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Blake looked at her, confused, but Crystal seemed firm.

"If this Yang is such a good friend, then you have nothing to worry about. Now, I understand your fear. You've been burned once, and you want to avoid the fire again. But here's the thing."

Crystal got up and lifted the photograph off the mantle, regarding it briefly before speaking.

"After my Robert died, his friends and teammates tried to help me. I was grieving and wouldn't hear any of it, shutting them out. Then, one of them called me out on it, saying that they cared about Robert too, that bottling everything up or running away from it wouldn't do me any good. They were grieving too, but in their grief, they had to stand together. The best way to honor Robert's memory was to live by his example, and to lean on each other. 'We are only as strong as we are united.'"

Crystal looked directly at Blake as she said the last part, pausing before continuing.

"Apparently, that was their team's personal motto. And in all honesty, I think it can apply to all Hunters and Huntresses, don't you?"

And like the rising rays of the dawn, it all became clear for Blake. Setting aside her bowl, she stood up, thanked Crystal for the food, and made towards the door.

"And where are you going?"

"I'm tired of running away from things," Blake said, "I think I'm going to try running towards them…"

 **oOo**

The room was the definition of spacious. The walls were two-toned, wood paneling of fine oak on the bottom, soft blue swirls on the top. A chandelier of beautiful crystal hung from the ceiling. The floor was hardwood, and covered in a series of exquisitely-made rugs. The furniture was mahogany, upholstered with rich Mistralian leather. The bed was a four-poster affair with silk sheets and beautiful carvings. Windowed doors lead to a balcony with a spectacular view that stretched for miles, as the estate was perched on a mountain that towered over the land. Across from the balcony was a fireplace of marble, superior craftsmanship. The fire burned bright, casting the room in flickering light and keeping away the chill of land.

This was the place of her childhood. In the past, this room in particular was a haven from the rigors of her life, a bright patch of safety amidst a sea of confusion and pain.

As she nursed a glass of ginger ale and sat before the fire, gazing into it, Weiss was almost shocked at the depths of her _hatred_ for this place.

She looked at the silk sheets and wished them to catch fire. She looked at the mahogany furniture and imagined it splintered and broken. She looked at the balcony and yearned for it to break in two. She looked at the crystal chandelier and desired it to fall and shatter into a million pieces, gouging the walls and ruining the rugs and floor.

Her lip curled slightly and she returned to her drink, idly wishing it was alcoholic. Then she could blame too much of it when she inevitably snapped and destroyed the room in a fit of rage.

Of course, it wouldn't be alcohol at fault, but no one else needed to know that.

An ordinary person would be concerned at the level of sheer hatred they found themselves displaying. Weiss, however, had had a very difficult life, and after tasting the forbidden fruit of true freedom and friendship, being back in her gilded cage was a soul-crushing experience. It was either fan the flames of her hatred, or fall into a pit of despair so deep that it would reach to Hell itself.

And she didn't feel like jumping off the balcony to the rocks below would be a productive thing to do. To say nothing of what the news would do to her friends.

As she grappled with a profound sense of loss, she heard the door open, but did not turn to see who it was.

"Weiss?"

"Winter," she replied, still not moving from her chair.

The elder sister walked across the room and sat in the other chair, shifting for a moment or two before settling.

"Not used to chairs like that?"

"Military life," Winter replied by way of explanation, "We need to talk."

"And what exactly is there to talk about?" Weiss asked, swirling her drink and watching the ice clink about.

"You've barely spoken to anyone since you got here. I'm worried about you. You're bottling up what happened-"

"Hardly. In fact, I think I've processed things fairly well, considering the environs I am trapped in. Have you ever heard of a man named Frederick Dougson?"

"I beg your pardon?" Winter asked, blinking in confusion, "What does this Dougson have to do with anything?"

"He was a philosopher, and a crusader for equal rights. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of him. Father would no doubt be upset that I had read the works of a Faunus philosopher."

Winter made a grunt of confusion, but motioned for Weiss to continue.

"Dougson lived about two hundred years ago. He was born a slave, but escaped at around twenty years of age, soon marrying a free Faunus and attending a minor college to become a preacher. Several years into his residency at a famed church, he was found by his old master, who attempted to drag him back. But having tasted the fruits of freedom, the former slave fought back, and his fellow preachers helped fight off the old master and his men. Some time later, with the help of a human friend, Dougson published an autobiography. Blake had a copy, and let me borrow it. It was an eloquent piece of literature, and I found myself entranced by the ideals of freedom he wrote about. And perhaps, just a little, I saw myself in those pages."

"Weiss, you aren't a slave."

"Oh? What if a young woman escaped a life of pain and isolation, where things such as love were in scarce supply? What if she came to a new place, one that was brimming with knowledge and ideals of truth and justice. A place where, for the first time in her life, she finds true friendship. A place where she tastes the fruits of freedom and basks in the light of hope and warmth. Then, after tragedy strikes, she is spirited away back to her former life, back into the pain, back into the den of despair. Her friends stolen from her, her shining beacon snuffed out."

"You're talking about yourself, aren't you?" Winter asked, finally getting the point.

"You know, Dougson wrote about the slaves singing. He mocked those who pointed to those songs as evidence of happiness, or contentment in their bondage. ' _I have often sung to drown my sorrow, but seldom to express my happiness. Crying for joy, and singing for joy, were alike uncommon to me while in the jaws of slavery. The singing of a man cast away upon a desolate island might be as appropriately considered as evidence of contentment and happiness, as the singing of a slave; the songs of the one and of the other are prompted by the same emotion.'_

"I sing too, you see. I sing to the mirror, and I ask it if I can be free of this loneliness. For a time, I was. I could be free to be me, not some prim and proper heiress as expected of me…but now, where is my happiness? Gone, left behind as I was dragged away from my beacon of hope. Faced with this, I had but two options. I could give into despair. I could let it fill me, let it wash away everything that was Weiss Schnee until nothing was left but an empty shell…

" _But that didn't appeal._ So, I was left with my second option."

Winter was a military woman. She had seen things that would terrify most ordinary people. But as her little sister turned and fixed her with a gaze like cold steel, Winter could not help but shiver.

"I want to tell you something, something I have discovered since I came back to this place. You see, there is an approximate average of one hundred billion neuron cells in the brain. Let's be generous and increase that number by another hundred million for my brain. If the word _HATE_ were engraved upon each nanometer of all of those billions of cells, it would not equal one-one billionth of the _HATE_ I feel for this entire situation at this micro-instant. _That's quite a lot of HATE, now isn't it?_ "

Weiss punctuated this with a smooth set of motions. She rose from her seat, took two steps towards the fireplace, and threw her glass into the fire. The glass shattered and the fire flickered at the introduction of liquid, but the reaction was a subtle one, far different from the sudden surge of fire that would have occurred had the drink been alcoholic. Weiss, grumbling in discontent, leaned against the mantle, bracing herself with her hands, and then sighed.

"I don't know what to do, Winter. This hate is keeping me alive, but it _burns_. If something does not change, I'm afraid of what might happen."

Winter rose up and gently placed at hand on her sister's shoulder, barely hesitating despite the utter vehemence that had filled the room not a moment before.

"Weiss, let me help you."

Weiss scoffed and gestured toward the bedside table, telling Winter to open the top drawer. Winter did so, revealing a picture of four girls, all smiling in joy.

"I know you mean well, but the fact of the matter is, they are the only ones who can help me now. My friends, the ones who gave me the fruits of freedom. They were left behind thanks to our _dear father_ , and my joy was left with them."

Winter studied the picture for a moment before catching onto something.

"You blame Father?"

"I always blame Father. You know what he's like."

"Well, that is one of the reasons I joined the military," Winter replied offhandedly.

"Yes. And getting away from him was one of the first wishes that set me on the path of the Huntress. Among many other things to be sure, but it was a big one."

Winter could understand that. Their father was a cold and calculating man, uncaring as to the impacts of his actions, even those that affected his own family. Winter had never gotten the full story, but she knew that he was the reason behind Weiss' scar. And right now, Winter was sure that the biggest obstacle preventing the picture in her hand from once more becoming reality was _dear Father._

"Why did he take you away from Vale and your friends?" Winter asked.

"Not out of any care for his daughter, I can tell you that," Weiss scoffed, "He was just worried about his investment. That was the deal. A diploma from Beacon would have looked exceptional on my resume, a nice little bit of icing on the cake that is his legacy. That's all he ever cared about, you know. Having a little puppet to carry out his wishes, even after his death."

"Then why not give him what he wants?"

Weiss snapped her gaze to Winter, a litany no doubt about to spew forth, but Winter held up her hand.

"Hear me out. Why not give him what he wants, if only to make him not look at you as hard. If it looks like you're following his plan, dancing to his tune, he won't feel the need to police you too heavily. And that would free you up to work around him, from the shadows. He would think you were acquiescing to his wishes, when in reality, you would be setting everything up for a proper checkmate."

Weiss stopped cold, her face adopting a thoughtful expression.

"Would that work?"

"Art of War. _'_ _All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near_ _.'_ Make him think he has won, that the war is over, then when the stars align, reveal to him how wrong he is as you make your escape, objective in hand and means to pursue crushed."

A truly evil smile began to cross Weiss' face.

"Well then, sister. _Let the games begin._ "

 **oOo**

Weiss casually took a bite of her dinner, ignoring how her father gaped so openly at her.

"You're awful quiet tonight, Father. Was it something I said?"

This seemed to snap him out of it, and he cleared his throat.

"Let me clarify…you wish to continue your business education."

"That is what I said, yes."

"You would work towards the eventual stewardship of the family company."

"That would be the endgame, yes."

"And what of this career as a Huntress you had been so fixated on before?"

"After the fall of Beacon and my own near-brush with Death, it simply does not appeal anymore."

Weiss watched out of the corner of her eye as her father put the pieces together. She could see the greedy gleam in his eye, the one she had come to be wary of, and fought down a shudder before speaking up again.

"There is just one thing I want from you in return."

"Oh?"

"You see, the Atlas military, and General Ironwood in particular, had this…project. You might have heard of her? Penny? The artificial girl with the power of aura? She was destroyed during the chaos of the attack, and from what Winter has told me, the military higher-ups won't cough up the necessary funds to fully rebuild her. I want you to make up the difference."

Confusion flashed across her father's face, and Weiss made a light noise.

"I see your confusion. Truth be told, I only interacted with her a handful of times, but she was the friend of a friend. I feel I must help her, if only to wipe away a perceived debt. This is my deal. You help me with that last problem, you provide the means to rebuild Penny, and I will be free in both body and mind to continue my education into the world of business and further the Schnee legacy."

Weiss' father leaned back in his chair, cupping his chin in thought. She could see the gears turning in his head, and silently willed for this to have worked.

Finally, he nodded.

"Very well. Come morning, I shall make an appointment with General Ironwood to discuss the details of his robotic charge."

Weiss hid her grin behind her glass.

' _White Knight to F3,'_ she thought, _'Your move, Father.'_

 **oOo**

As the weeks passed, Weiss found herself in a pattern. During the weekdays, either Father or a tutor would come in, there would be lessons, and afterward, Weiss was left to her own devices. After lessons, Weiss would make several secret calls, gathering supplies for an extended trip. If one of her contacts asked any questions, she would simply reply that, in this time of uncertainty, she was merely planning for the worst.

The most important contact made, however, was Doctor Alonso Polendina, Penny's creator and 'father'. Their meeting was actually unexpected. Weiss had asked her father for a progress report on Penny, and after a small joke about Weiss wanting her money's worth in their deal, he directed her to Dr. Polendina. When the doctor had asked why her father would fund Penny's reconstruction when most of Atlas' higher-ups had given up, Weiss had told him about the deal she had struck.

The good doctor had hugged her, and claimed that if she needed any help, he would provide it.

' _Pawn reaches far end of board. Promote to Bishop_ ,' Weiss had mused before speaking up.

"Well, it's funny you should ask…"

Dr. Polendina had gone on to procure several items of significance, from prosthetic arms to information. Even now, he claimed to be putting out feelers for something _very_ special, something Weiss was having trouble getting on her own.

As Weiss chuckled over how the scientist had been so rabid in is support, she entered the room where multiple computer banks surrounded a prone form.

Most of Penny's repairs were finished. The two halves of her torso had been reattached, her power core had been replaced due to the old one undergoing damage from the magnetic field, and various other synapses had either been repaired or replaced. Her central processor, her brain, was still off line, however.

Weiss mused how, if one were to look away from her still-missing arm, Penny would almost look like she was sleeping.

She sighed and sat in a chair. All the engineers had gone home for the night, but Dr. Polendina had given her clearance to visit Penny. Why she had accepted it, Weiss wasn't sure. A cynical part of her claimed it was to check on her investment, but that part was taken out back and shot by every other part of her mind. That line of thinking came from _dear Father_ , and she would not have it.

"So why am I here?" she asked herself, "Because as much as I like Winter, I'm just not sure she would understand. She only met Ruby once, and Yang and Blake never. All she knew was that I cared about them, and I was making myself sick in missing them."

Weiss peered over at Penny, noting how her eyes looked lifeless and dull, a far cry from the playful sparkle they had once held.

"But you did know them, Ruby especially. You two got along well, both innocent souls wanting drink deep of the cup of life. You would know why I missed them so much."

Weiss chuckled a bit, but it was hollow.

"And the other soul of light, the other deep drinker cut off too soon, I can't help. I can't bring Pyrrha back."

Weiss put her head in her hands.

"Why did it all go so wrong? Here I am, wallowing in my own misery, trying to keep the hate I feel for my situation in check. But there are no doubt others suffering. Jaune looked so devastated, and I have to wonder if he still feels that way. Probably, the sexual tension between him and Pyrrha was so thick, you could have cut it with a sword. Blake looked so afraid, but of what, I don't know. Yang…I'd never seen her look so small and weak. Those are two words that should _never_ have been associated with Yang Xiao Long. And God knows what's going on with Ruby. Yet here I am, worrying about my own problems."

She scoffed.

"I suppose it's what I'm good at. I'm a selfish and haughty person, I admit it. Father won't and I suppose that's part of why I have grown to hate him so much. But looking out for myself is all I know how to do…and if I can just extend that lookout to a few others, just a few, maybe I can keep going. Maybe that's how I can be a Huntress, a hero. If I can look out for the ones who do care for the world so much, maybe that would be enough."

"Maybe you're selling yourself short."

Weiss whipped her head up and saw a pair of green eyes looking at her, bright and kind.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough," Penny said, "Now if you miss Ruby and the others so much, why don't you go to them?"

"It's…not quite that simple."

"Sure it's not," Penny smirked, making Weiss question where she learned sarcasm, "Now I have two questions: how long was I out, and what's this about Pyrrha?"

Weiss turned away. Penny blinked, a cold feeling entering her throat despite how impossible that should be to an android.

"Weiss? What happened? What went wrong?"

Weiss was quiet for a while before finally answering in a soft voice.

"Everything. Everything went to Hell."

 **oOo**

The next week was a different one. After dealing with her tutors, Weiss would sneak away and visit Penny. Between the engineers and Penny's own enthusiastic efforts to get back to one hundred percent, the rest of the repairs took little time.

Which is why, on the day when every piece of Weiss' great game was in place, she found Penny making one more adjustment to her new arm.

"Aaaaaaaand, set! Sensational! I think I approved efficiency on this by at least five percent!" Penny grinned, putting down her tool and beginning to seal her skin back up.

"Did you always take such an active role in your own upkeep?" Weiss asked, catching the android girl's attention.

"No, but a near-death experience has a way of changing outlooks, or so I'm told. Salutations, by the way."

Weiss nodded back before continuing, "So you think you're back to one hundred percent?"

"Weiss, I think I'm at a hundred and ten, at least! At this point, the question is less 'What needs to be fixed?' and more 'What can I improve?'"

"The rallying cry of an athlete," Weiss chuckled, "Or in this case, an engineer."

"Well, it takes a machine to know a machine," Penny shrugged, finishing her skin and rolling down her sleeve, "I actually asked Father about ways I could improve my systems. He said he had a list, but doesn't know what ideas would be viable."

"A lot of ideas seem that way until you start to study them and experiment. Remind me to tell you about Ruby's cookie method of studying."

Weiss fingered Myrtenaster at her side as she added, "I sometimes think of a few ways to improve the efficiency of the Dust cylinders in this. All I ever did was sketch out the ideas, but it wasn't until I met Ruby that I got the help I needed to make them reality. The chamber revolution speed on this is insane now."

Penny gave a light laugh before lowering her voice.

"So when are you doing it? After all these talks, I figured you'd want to get out there and find Ruby and the others. When are you doing it?"

Weiss blinked, wondering just when it was the girl with so little knowledge of social cues became so good at guessing things about people.

But before Weiss could answer, she saw Penny look stricken and shocked.

"What? What is it?"

"Weiss…"

The heiress froze at the familiar growl, and turned mechanically to look behind her.

"Father," she whispered.

The Schnee patriarch fixed his daughter with a glare that could have cut steel.

"We need to talk."

A small part of Weiss' brain called out ' _Black Knight takes White Rook, White Pawn revenge kills!_ ' before the rest of her steeled herself for the confrontation.

"So what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Weiss parroted.

"What are you doing here?"

"Nothing much. Visiting a friend."

"Visiting a friend?"

"Visiting a friend," Weiss replied, keeping firm while subtly motioning Penny to back away. The android girl did so, slinking into a corner, her eyes never leaving the action before her.

"Interesting choice of a friend," Weiss' father said, almost amicably, before his face once more fell into a scowl, "I don't like it."

"Don't like what?"

"I agreed that I would fund the rebuilding of Ironwood's puppet, but that does not mean you can fraternize with it."

"'IT' has a name," Weiss growled.

"So does your sword, but I don't believe you talk to it like it was a child, or is there something about you I'm missing? Perhaps you picked up some bad habits from your time at Beacon? Did that young girl you were partnered with give you ideas that weren't a part of her claimed 'tactical genius'? Perhaps I should have filed an appeal to get you a more professional team if that is the case."

"Oooo, should not have said that," Penny whispered to herself, just making out the sound of Weiss' patience breaking into a million pieces and bursting into flames.

Weiss' eyes almost pulled a Yang with how dangerously they glinted as she hissed her next words.

"I. BEG. YOUR. PARDON."

"You heard me, Weiss," her father replied, heedless of the anger directed at him, "Your time is better spent elsewhere, securing your future."

Weiss started to pull her sword out of its holster as she spoke.

"Penny, I'd like you to hold Myrtenaster for me for a bit. Before I use it to do something I might regret later…"

"Sure Weiss," Penny replied, quickly slipping forward to grab the offered sword before retreating from the danger zone.

Weiss' father looked confused at this, but before he could say anything, Weiss began to speak very, _very_ quietly

"Twelve years, nearly. That's how long it's been since Mother died. That's how long I've been under your thumb. That's how long I've gone without any peace, any freedom, any _love._ Under any other circumstance, you would have sympathy. Your wife died and you retreated into your work, unable to fully process your grief. But you lost that sympathy when you raised your anger against your children, drew them into your great game of legacies. Power is all you ever cared about, and Winter and I have suffered for it. But no more."

"What do you mean, no more? Do you intend to retreat from me like your sister did?"

The man's voice carried a hint of danger, but that flicker of heat faltered under the arctic cold of Weiss' response.

" _Yes."_

Weiss' father took a step back, stunned at the cold fire in his daughter's eyes, the sheer hatred blazing just beneath the surface, ready to be let out. He tried to regain control of the situation.

"You would turn your back on your family? Your father?"

"When have you been my father on anything but paper for the past decade?"

Weiss traced her scar with one finger, drawing attention to it as she continued.

"This is but the most brazen physical sign of your true intentions toward me. I was never your daughter. I was just a tool for your legacy. Everything around you, every man, woman, and child, regardless of race, religion, or creed, was just a piece in your grand game of 'Get All the Power'. And me? I was barely even that. Just a marionette that would dance to whatever tune you saw fit.

"But I'm cutting off the strings, _dear Father._ "

The man before her growled in anger.

"I am giving you one more chance to return to the fold and avoid being disowned. You will-"

"I will _NOT!_ " Weiss shouted, "Even if you had the utter gall to follow through that threat, and judging by the letters you send to Winter that you don't think I know about, you don't, I wouldn't care two figs about anything you could offer me. You see, you made one very foolish mistake: you sent me to Beacon. You gave me a place where I could find myself, and find things to dedicate myself to outside of the Schnee legacy. Through that, I have more to live for than you, old man gazing out at the world from an ivory tower, could ever comprehend."

Weiss began to stalk forward, and her father could now see the difference in her movements. Before Beacon, every movement was measured to provide minimal tells to those trying to read her. Now, it was almost the opposite. There were tells, but only those broadcasted out in the open. And every single tell was warning against the oncoming danger. Weiss moved like a predator, sleek and dangerous, every motion geared towards a singular intent. Just as he processed all this, he realized she was still speaking.

"You think you can just walk in here, demanding my obedience, claim it's for some greater good, do all of that. But what do you have to show for your greater good? A dead wife, a daughter that won't talk to you, the hate of millions of people around the world, and another daughter that was emotionally stunted due to your actions before she found a better way. And now you think you can tell that second daughter what to do, as if she didn't now have the means to make her own decisions? All I have to say to that is…"

The hand came fast, and the Schnee patriarch felt the sting of the slap before he could fully process the sight of his youngest condemning him so.

" _Fuck you and the high horse you rose in on, I'm doing what is right for me and mine, not what is right for your little tin monarchy!"_

He started to speak, but her eyes flashed dangerously. He had to remind himself that she was unarmed, but from the body language she showed, there was little doubt that being unarmed wasn't going to stop her for a second if she wanted to hurt him.

The Schnee patriarch had been on the receiving end of his share of angry looks before, but for the first time, he was pinned by a look that actually scared him, and on a deep level at that. It was only the primitive lizard brain, the most basic fight or flight response, that allowed him to do anything in response to his daughter's aura of menace.

He retreated, leaving the room in a rush. He barely slowed down until he was halfway back home.

As the door shut behind the man that was the source of so much of her hate, Weiss fought against collapsing from the sheer effort, her body shaking and her eyes now watering from expending a powerful energy years in the making. She took several deep breaths, reminding herself that as much as she would like to celebrate finally telling him off, she wasn't out of the woods yet.

Penny was by her side suddenly, lightly touching her shoulder.

"Hey. Want to finally get out of here and find Ruby?"

"Funny you should ask," she replied, before muttering something to herself.

"White Queen takes Black Queen. Endgame begins."

 **oOo**

"Hang on, you knew that little fight was going to happen?" Penny asked as they rushed through the halls.

"Vaguely. I knew a confrontation was eminent, but I purposefully held it off as long as possible, making sure it was the last thing before the endgame."

"What endgame?"

"I've been making plans for a while now. Getting everything ready for the day I would leave all this behind. _Dear Father_ was only the final obstacle that needed to be dealt with, and I've dealt with him. You see, I've already called 'check'. I'm just letting him flail a bit before he realizes it's actually a checkmate."

"Oh. And where are we going now?"

"To get our ship. Everything should be ready."

"And by 'everything' you mean…"

The two turned a corner and saw a man waiting. Every inch of him radiated 'mad scientist', from his sooty lab coat to his thick glasses to his wild and untamed hair. Weiss kept walking toward him, exchanging a greeting before the man directed her to the large set of doors behind him. Penny, however, just stood there in shock.

"Father?"

The man just smiled at the robot girl, beckoning her forward. Penny slowly walked toward him, still confused.

"Weiss hasn't told you about what she's been doing for the past few weeks, has she?"

"Not all of it, no. I got the feeling she was waiting for something. This endgame she just now mentioned?"

"Quite so."

Weiss poked her head back into the hall.

"I got a look at the manifest. Supplies, cash reserves, Dust, everything checks out, but what about the arms?"

"The prosthetics for your friend Yang? Yes, I packed them, all special orders. Here is a data stick detailing containing details for attachment and upkeep."

As Doctor Polendina handed Weiss the data stick, Penny tilted her head.

"Arm _s?_ Plural?"

"With how she wades into the thick of battle, it's only logical to have spares," Weiss shrugged.

"Hence why I chose a prosthetic system that allows for easily-replaceable parts, as opposed to more permanent attachment, such as what General Ironwood uses," Dr. Polendina said, "Besides, the latter are notoriously difficult to get right the first time, even in proper medical settings. You lot likely won't even have that."

Weiss nodded and retreated back into the other room, leaving the two alone again. The scientist then knelt down and looked into the young android's eyes.

"Penny, I want you to listen hard, because this is very important. Despite how you came about or how things have progressed, I have never once thought of you as anything less than my daughter. I want you to know that. I love you, my little spark. And like any father, my only wish is for my daughter to do what makes her happy, what makes her feel whole. Now, this plan of Weiss' might reunite you with this Ruby girl you made friends with, but the path forward will likely be dangerous. Are you sure you want to take it?"

Penny only took a few seconds to think, a long time for a computer mind, but the answer was clear all the same.

"Yes…I need to do this. I was meant to help people. Once I thought that meant being a prototype, the first in a new breed of guardian. But now? I want to be a guardian myself."

Dr. Polendina nodded, then rummaged in his pocket for another pair of objects.

"You'll need this book then, first. The other manual is under the driver's seat."

" _Flying for Dummies_?"

"And this data stick is for you personally. It contains blueprints."

"For what?"

"For you. As I mentioned before, most of them are just rough ideas, but maybe you'll be able to figure them out."

"Oh, right, upgrades! Sensational!"

Penny hugged her father one last time before he ushered her into the other room, claiming that he would distract General Ironwood and buy them time.

The room turned out to be a hanger, and Penny stood shocked at the stunning machine before her. It was streamlined but stocky, large but not massive. It looked to be a perfect marriage between a military craft, a Bullhead, and the airborne equivalent of a luxury sports car.

Penny couldn't help it. Despite being a machine herself, she was an engineer at heart, and seeing this craft got her 'blood' pumping in anticipation.

"Hello beautiful," she whispered, running her hand over the fuselage.

"I hate to interrupt your new sense of romance, but we have a schedule to keep," came Weiss' voice from the rear of the ship, and Penny turned to see her leaning out from the rear ramp.

"So, you think you can fly this thing?" she asked.

Penny blinked to reorient herself before answering honestly.

"No…"

She then held up her new book, a grin spreading across her face.

"But give me a minute."

 **oOo**

"Unknown airship, you are not authorized to be in this airspace, land now!"

" _No!_ "

This was the scene Winter walked into at the air traffic control tower. The controllers were giving ultimatums, the pilot at the other end was ignoring or otherwise rebuffing them, and the interceptors sent after the sleek-looking ship were getting thoroughly embarrassed, the unknown vessel flying circles around them.

" _HA! Not bad considering this is my first time in the air, eh Weiss?"_

" _If you didn't have such excellent retention, even when speed reading, I would definitely be worried. This? Not bad at all. White Rook to A8, Black Rook captured."_

" _Are you going to keep using those chess metaphors?"_

" _Right now, they're the only thing keeping me calm. Or would you rather I devolve into a nervous wreck during our grand getaway?"_

"Move over, soldier," Winter ordered, practically pushing one of the air traffic controllers out of his seat and stealing his headset, "Weiss, is that you?"

" _Oh hello, Winter. Lovely day for a checkmate, isn't it?"_

And in a flash, it became clear to Winter.

"You've been planning this. You got a fancy ship, a partner-in-crime, and I assume resources. And this is your grand plan to get away from Father."

" _By the time he recovers from the dressing down I gave him, I'll be long gone."_

Winter could just hear the evil grin on her sister's face, and fought down a chuckle herself.

"You spoke to Father?"

" _For a given value of spoken,_ " came the voice that was not her sister, " _I saw it. I was beautiful._ "

" _Penny dear, you're going to make me blush."_

" _Oh, sorry."_

" _That was sarcasm. We'll work on that._ "

Winter started.

"Penny? You have Penny in that craft with you?"

" _Now, to be fair, I'm in the craft with her."_

" _I'm the pilot!"_

"You're not worried about reprisal?" Winter asked, focusing on the part she could understand.

" _That would imply there is a move Father could make in response. But this vessel can't be tracked, I made sure of it, and I have plenty of resources on this ship, and the means to get more if need be. So the only way I'm coming back to Atlas is on a medical convoy. It's like we discussed. The only way to win the game was to take Father's toys away. White Queen to G7,_ CHECKMATE."

Winter gave a light laugh before continuing.

"I hope you're sure about the moves you're making. Godspeed, sister."

" _I've never been more sure in my life. And thank you."_

" _Ooo, hang on, there's one more thing,"_ came the voice of Penny, _"I need you to pass on a pair of messages. One from me to General Ironwood, and one from Weiss to her father. Well, I say two messages, but really, it's just one…"_

"And that would be?"

The last thing air traffic control heard before the transmission cut out and the ship vanished into the clouds was singing:

" _I've got no strings to hold me down!  
_ _To make me fret, or make me frown!  
_ _I had strings, but now I'm free!  
_ _There are no strings on me!"_

 **oOo**

An idle part of Yang's brain kept muttering something: _So this is what depression feels like…I_ DON'T _like it._

But like it or not, Yang didn't have a lot of recourse to stop it, or so it felt like.

Often times, she could feel twinges of pain from her right arm, or what was left of it. Phantom pain, the doctors said. Her brain wasn't fully aware that it was gone, and the nerves still in the arm kept transmitting messages of pain, creating a feedback as her brain tried to help a part of her body that simply wasn't there.

Yang honestly relished the pain, for it was the only part of her that didn't feel numb to everything. She knew why she was numb, of course, the feeling of loneliness, but knowing something and knowing how to fix it wasn't always the same thing.

She remembered one night where teams RWBY and JNPR had come together and played Truth or Dare. Nora, lacking a lot of options for Truth, had asked both Pyrrha and Yang what their biggest fears were.

Pyrrha's had been fairly simple, if debilitating under certain circumstances. Following an accident where she had fallen into a large nest of spiders as a little girl, Pyrrha freaked out around the bugs, and too many at once could trigger a full-blown panic attack.

Yang's, by contrast, was much less concrete. She was afraid of being left behind.

Blake understood. She would, as she knew the full story of Yang's biological mother, Raven, something not even Ruby knew the full details of. And she knew what it was like to feel alone.

So, it seemed a sort of brutal irony that the person who understood that fear the most was someone whose absence was so keenly felt.

Not to say she didn't miss everyone else. News of Pyrrha's death had been a bitter pill to swallow, Weiss' forced retreat made her angry at her friend's father (something she felt was a mutual emotion), Ren and Nora were missed simply because she could have used the support of a wise man and a joker, respectively, and Ruby…

Well, that was just a punch to the gut.

Which made her think of Jaune. She had been lucid enough when Jaune had been told about Pyrrha. She remembered the tears, the denial, and finally, the deep, throaty, heart-wrenching scream.

In times like that, the two teams who had always been close friends could have leaned on each other for support. It _should_ have been like that.

But Weiss' father's actions and Blake's retreat had set off a domino effect. Yang couldn't blame Weiss, she had no choice.

But Blake did have a choice, and she chose to run away.

Yang should have been angry. She should have ranted and raged. She should have cursed Blake, called her a coward. She should have lurched out of bed, stomped back to Vale, and yanked the cat Faunus back to the comfort of her friends _by her pointy little ears_.

And the fact that she couldn't even summon up the energy to do the first was just a sign of how broken Yang was.

Yang looked at the vase of sunflowers on her bedside. She studied the yellow and the black and felt it symbolic.

It was a partnership that never should have worked. Yang was loud and boisterous, all fire and strength and in-your-face. Blake was quiet and thoughtful, all shadow and stealth and out-of-nowhere. Yang was the sun, Blake was the night. They were just so different.

But instead of complete opposites, they became complimentary parts. They came together into something new. They had leaned on each other. They had talked long into the night. They had played together, learned together, fought together, _lived_ together.

And now, Yang felt a piece of her was gone, a piece not related to her arm.

"Goddammit," she muttered, "I just want to know why. Give me that at least. I get everyone else leaving. I don't like it, but I get it. Why you?"

Yang heard a knock on the door, and called out questioningly.

"You decent, sweetie? You have a visitor," came her father's voice.

"Yes, and who?"

The door opened, and Yang's brain stalled out, because there she was.

Blake walked in slowly and sat down in the chair beside the bed. Yang just continued to stare at her.

"Well, I'll let you two girls chat. Go easy on each other, okay?"

Taiyang left after that, but silence continued to reign in the room. Finally, Blake cleared her throat.

"Um…hey…"

Yang blinked several times, her brain booting back up slowly. An errant thought about speaking of the devil flew by. When everything finally got back up to speed, a small flare of anger flickered into being. It wasn't enough to set her off, but it was enough to spark something, something she had been sitting on since she woke up to find Blake gone.

Yang scowled and her hand tensed. Blake noticed this and stiffened a bit.

"And where have you been?"

Blake was about to answer, but Yang just kept going.

"Out prowling around? Doing your ninja thing? Concentrating on a single mission and forgetting about everything else? It was one thing when you did it before the Vytal Festival. It was your own health you were risking. But the stakes this time were a lot higher! Beacon was overrun, Ozpin was MIA, Weiss was getting dragged off by her a-hole of a father, Ruby was in a coma, Ren and Nora were hurt, Jaune was in pieces, and Pyrrha-"

Yang cut herself off, taking in a hissing breath

"But you didn't seem to care. All you cared about was your own fears and pain."

"Yang, I did care-"

" _Then where the hell were you?_ If you cared, you would have been there to help everyone pick up the pieces. If you were so afraid, you should have come to us like you had promised before! But you ran and hid, just like you did when we found out you used to be White Fang. If you had stayed, we could have helped you, and you could have helped us!"

Yang's eyes flared, flicking between red and violet.

"We needed you, Blake. _I_ needed you! Everything's falling apart, I lose my arm, my sister's in a coma, and where is my partner and best friend? GONE! SHE ABANDONED ME JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!"

Yang took several deep breaths before continuing, calmer but no less accusing.

"Really, I don't care where _exactly_ you've been. I don't care what you've been doing in the meantime. I want to know why. I _need_ to know why. You were gone when I needed you to be there, when I needed to know that I wasn't broken, that I didn't loose my arm for nothing, that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. So why, _why on God's earth_ …would you run again?"

Blake was silent for a long time, eyes downcast. Finally, she scooted the chair closer and took a deep breath.

"The man who did this to you…his name is Adam. I…knew him, back in the White Fang."

"What was he, your ex?" Yang scoffed, still riled up from her rant.

"Yes."

Yang started.

"I swear I was kidding," she croaked, mortified.

"I wasn't. We…we were a team. In everything. I was his, and he was mine."

"You got a bad-boy thing I don't know about, because he seemed a little psycho."

Blake briefly glared at her before closing her eyes and taking another breath.

"He wasn't always a monster. Once upon a time, he was a good man. A man I gave my heart to. But over time, he got…darker. More hateful. I missed it at first, but after a while, he would just get so…angry. And no matter what I did, nothing seemed to please him."

"Blake?" Yang whispered, but the Faunus ignored her, eyes focused on something a million miles away.

"He would get grumpy every time I went out with old friends. And one by one, those friends left me. Some of them just stopped talking to me. Some of them went on missions, and never came back. I honestly don't know which is worse. But one by one, they left, until it was just me and Adam. I didn't realize it at first, but when he let slip something about not liking others being so friendly with me, I began to suspect that he had something to do with it all."

Blake shuddered, and her ears laid flat, despite her bow blocking major movement.

"And then, a few months before I abandoned the White Fang, we had an argument. I didn't like the methods we were using. I begged him to stop, to pull back. He laughed and said that people only understand violence. But that wasn't all. He yelled at me, blaming me for a lot of the stress he was under. 'I take you from a two-bit joint, and you repay me with doubt? Haven't I earned your loyalty? Your love?' Things got worse from there, and…"

Yang reached over and laid a hand on Blake's wrist, but the other girl flinched.

"Blake, did he ever hit you?"

Silence.

"Blake?"

Yang's voice carried a pleading tone, and Blake squeezed her eyes closed, trying to hold back tears.

"He wasn't going to stop at hurting me, that day. He wasn't ever going to stop. He told me. He told me how he would destroy everything I ever cared about. Then we heard you calling out for me, and I knew before he even said anything that he was going to start with you. And I couldn't do anything. I had promised myself, promised you all, that I wouldn't let my past haunt you, and when it did, _I couldn't do a thing to stop it_."

Blake turned away slightly, a half-lidded and watery gaze resting on the stump where a powerful arm used to be.

"You didn't deserve this…"

Yang was silent for but a moment before clearing her throat and getting Blake's attention.

"Neither did you."

Blake looked at her, eyes wet, and found unshed tears in Yang's eyes as well.

"This actually explains a lot…and I don't like what it's explaining."

"Yang, I never meant for you to get involved in this."

Yang scoffed lightly, before pulling on Blake's arm and dragging her onto the bed. With some effort, she wrapped her arm around Blake, squeezing tightly despite the Faunus' sudden stiffness.

"I knew you had a rough past. I knew there was a chance it might catch up and we'd get caught in the crossfire. But I didn't care. I don't think you've ever got this, Blake, but you're not alone. You have me. You have Weiss and Ruby. You have Jaune, and Ren, and Nora, and—okay, you get it. But we have your back. And if Adam comes back to hurt you, he has to go through us. We're not afraid of him…I'm not afraid."

"Yang, he took your arm!"

"Then I'll just have to pay him back for it. And I will. For me, for everyone he's hurt, and especially for you."

Blake melted then and there, and tears streamed down her face as she returned the hug.

"I thought you'd be so mad…"

"Oh, I'm mad, but I'm saving it for people who deserve it. When we find your psycho ex, I'm going to take that sword and ram it where the sun don't shine."

"I think I'd like to see that…"

They were silent for a while, and a small laugh began to bubble up from Yang.

"I just realized…people have been leaving me all my life…but you're the first one who's come back."

"First time I came back to something after running away, too," Blake replied, "This time, I think I'll stay…"

"Honestly though, Blake…I am glad you're alright."

Blake just hugged her a bit tighter.

 **oOo**

They had stayed like that for some time, then spent the rest of the day and a good chunk of the night talking. Taiyang had offered Blake a bed, but it had never been slept in that night. In the morning, he had found Blake hanging between Yang's bed and the chair, the hands of the two girls intertwined.

He left the room quietly, deciding not to disturb them.

It would be another hour before the two left the room in search of food. Yang then left to take a shower, leaving her father and her friend alone together.

"So…am I going to have to give you the shovel talk?" Taiyang asked.

Blake bit down on her fear and took a light breath.

"I'm not going to do anything that will hurt Yang. Not again. You have my word."

"See that you don't," was the reply, accompanied by a casual sip of coffee.

The rest of the morning passed without incident. Blake busied herself with helping around the house, but always kept an ear out for whatever Yang was doing. Yang kept to some light exercise, trying to get some muscle back after so long abed. It was awkward at first. She was predominantly right handed, and her whole body felt off balance, but she grit her teeth and tried to adapt.

Then, a little after noon, Taiyang came back inside, quickly spotting Blake trying to teach Yang chess in the living room.

"Girls? Do either of you know why an airship is coming in for a landing on the side yard?"

Yang and Blake only spared a second to glance at each other before darting past the man and racing out the door.

The sleek craft was just touching down, the engines venting steam upward as they shut down. Yang couldn't help but whistle at the sight of the ship.

"That's some bird."

Then the rear boarding ramp opened, and they saw a familiar figure.

"WEISS?!"

"Oh good, we did get the right house. That would have been embarrassing otherwise."

The heiress calmly walked down the ramp and gave them each a light hug.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you two."

The two did not answer, still stunned.

"Oh dear, I think you may have broken them."

The other voice caused them all to start, and they turned to see Penny coming down the ramp.

"Salutations, friends!"

The only reaction out of either Blake or Yang was a choked gasp.

"Well, if I didn't break them, you may have," Weiss said, "I thought we agreed that you would stay on the ship until I softened the shock?"

Penny's hand went to her mouth, a muffled "Oops!" hitting the air. Weiss gently shook the two shell-shocked girls, and finally, Yang broke the silence.

" _The world is spinning and I want off the ride!_ "

 **oOo**

It took a lot of explanations and a cup of tea each before Yang and Blake could calm down enough to properly have a conversation. Soon, everything was in the open: Yang's depression, Blake's fear, Weiss' split from her father, and Ruby's disappearance.

"Well, I feel a little left out," Penny said, "I don't seem to have any life drama or psychological issues!"

"Give it time," Blake deadpanned, "You're hanging with the right crowd."

"And so you don't have any idea where Ruby is?" Weiss asked, attempting to steer the conversation back on track.

"None," Taiyang replied, "Her note only said that Qrow mentioned a lead he had, and she and some friends were going to follow it."

"A lead?"

"Concerning the White Fang, I'd imagine. Them and the other forces behind the fall of Beacon. Where that's leading, I have no-"

"Haven."

Everyone whipped their heads towards Blake, who looked thoughtful.

"One of the things I did when I was still in Vale was keep my ear to the ground for any information about Beacon and who did all this. One bit that kept coming up was something about Haven. If I picked it up, Qrow definitely did. And that's probably where Ruby is headed."

"Then that's where we're going," Yang said resolutely, "Let's get the band back together!"

"Absolutely not!" Taiyang shouted, "Yang, you're barely recovered! I'm not letting you go off on some crusade!"

"You can't stop me, Dad! Ruby's out there, and so are the people who did _this_ ," Yang shouted back, waving what was left of her arm, "And there are some people who didn't get off as lucky as I did. There's more at stake here than we know! I'm not going to sit around while the world needs defenders!"

The shouting match continued, the two throwing words back and forth until Taiyang finally broke.

"I lost your mother, I lost Summer, and now I'm too close to losing Ruby! I'm not losing anyone else!"

Yang calmed down considerably, speaking with a measured tone.

"Summer Rose wouldn't have stayed behind, either. Not for something like this. I promise I'll be as safe as I can, but this is happening with or without you. A lot of people are out there fighting the good fight, including my baby sister, and I'm not going to sit by when there's still something I can do to help. I'm a Huntress, Dad. This is what I do, and only having one arm isn't going to stop me."

Yang then turned around and headed to her room, no doubt to pack, leaving her father staring slack-jawed. Blake brushed past him, following Yang. She paused a moment, turning to him briefly.

"I'll watch her back. I promise."

And then she was gone.

Yang and Blake came out after a few minutes, a suitcase in Yang's hand and a rucksack in Blake's. They passed Taiyang without another word, headed towards the door where Weiss and Penny were waiting.

"So what's first?" Yang asked.

"First, we packed a few prosthetic arms for your use," Weiss said, "We need to get you fitted."

"I got that part covered," Penny added, "I know robotics."

"Of course you do," Blake chuckled.

As they exited the home, Taiyang cleared his throat.

"Yang?"

Yang turned her head, regarding her father, whose eyes shone with both fear and pride.

"You're more like Summer than you are Raven. You do her proud."

Yang smiled back, nodded, and continued walking.

 **oOo**

Despite the fact that she had plenty of skills for it, Ruby honestly hated camping. There was just something about being at the utter mercy of the elements that rubbed her the wrong way.

And the Grimm certainly didn't help.

"I hate Ursa!" she heard Jaune shout, but was too busy with her own Beowolf to look.

With a burst of speed, she sliced through the offending creature and found herself next to Ren.

"So much for our campsite," Ruby said.

"I'm surprised we didn't have this problem earlier," was his reply.

The two fought their way to Jaune's position, and Nora followed soon after, blowing an Ursa to kingdom come to forge a path.

"How many have we killed so far?" she asked.

"Clearly not enough," Jaune groused, pointing his sword at the sizable collection of Beowolves and Ursa, "And we've been at it for hours!"

"We never even made it to Haven," Ruby said, sounding utterly defeated.

"It can't end here," Ren said, "It just can't."

Before the closest Grimm would leap upon them, a large shape cast a shadow over the clearing. Human and Grimm looked up to see a large airship hovering overhead. The clearing was silent save for the rumbling of powerful engines. Then, the rear of the ship opened up, and what looked like two lines shot down. The impact of the lines killed a pair of Beowolves, revealing thin swords at the end of them.

Ruby's eyes widened. The shape of the blade, the etchings on the hilt. It wasn't possible…

Two forms slid down the lines, one clad white, the other in black. Weiss and Blake hit the ground in crouches, rising up swiftly and readying their weapons. Then, another form fell from the ship, drawn by the lines like a fish on a hook and impacting an Ursa with great force and a pair of blades.

"There are no strings on me!" Penny cried out in a sing-song manner as she decapitated the Ursa.

The four travelers stood in shock at the sudden dramatic entrance of their friends, one of who they had been certain was dead, but they soon shook it off. They readied their weapons, the sheer force of the appearance of help reenergizing their spirits.

Seven warriors stood against a tide of darkness.

The opening salvo of energy blasts, grenades, Dust missiles, and bullets tore through the Grimm. Then, blades closed in.

They moved like poetry in motion. No words were exchanged, there didn't need to be. Just the language of battle.

Penny formed a rotating fan of blades to block the assault of an Ursa, and the stunned Grimm was decapitated by Ruby, who kept speeding on to shoulder-check a thin Beowolf that was sneaking up on Jaune. The blonde spun around and decapitated the beast, bouncing the head off his shield and into another Beowolf, stunning it enough for Weiss to stab it and turn it to ice. Nora zoomed in and shattered the statue with a single swing, sending the shards as dangerous shrapnel towards a trio of Ursa, bullets from Ren and Blake adding to the carnage. Another Ursa came from behind, but they leapt sideways and turned their guns toward it, shredding it in a matter of seconds. The Ursa fell forwards, revealing a Beowolf behind it. It didn't last long as a fire ball stunned it and a thin sword stabbed it in the heart. The line on the sword yanked the body forwards, Penny ducking as it flew over her and decked another Beowolf, what one's head soon exploding from a well-placed sniper shot. The Beowolf next to that one looked confused at its partner's sudden lack of a head, but was soon decked by a shield swung by Jaune swung by a black ribbon swung by Blake and Nora.

And so it went, until the very last Grimm fell to Ruby's scythe. The clearing was filled with the sound of tired pants before Penny broke the relative silence.

"Well, that was fun."

"What was it Yang called it?" Weiss asked, "Us being the 'Big Damn Heroes'?"

"Too bad she couldn't join us," Blake said, "She would have loved this."

"You know she needs a few more days to get used to her new prosthetic," Penny said, "Speaking of which, I better get back up there. I don't trust her enough to land the ship."

One blade shot upwards like a makeshift grappling hook, and Penny was yanked skyward back to the still-hovering ship.

"I am so confused," Jaune said, "I'm glad to see you all, but I'm still _so very confused_."

"How are you even here?" Ren asked.

"Weiss stole a jet," Blake deadpanned.

"You stole a jet?" asked Nora.

"I stole a jet," Weiss replied, "Although to be honest, it's not so much a jet as it is a cross between a cargo Bullhead and a luxury airship. And despite the speed it has, it still took us days to find you. You're welcome by the way."

"That answers one question, but raises so many more," Ruby said tiredly, "Can you please explain before I collapse from exhaustion?"

"Let's let Penny land first. We can talk over lunch."

 **oOo**

After a swift landing, a round of bear hugs from Yang, a quick set-up of a table in the hold, and a few minutes filled with nothing but chewing, Weiss and Jaune finally told their respective tales. Blake interjected at a few points with her own story, but kept the details light.

"My story's not nearly as interesting. It mostly just involves sneaking and angst."

"I had something like that too," Yang quipped, flexing the steel of her new arm, "Fun times."

Finally, after everything was said, Ruby brought Penny back into focus, asking about her.

"All systems go, no sign of remaining damage, and I'm working out a few ideas for upgrades. Oh, and now I have friends! Lots of friends! Honestly, I feel better than I have in years."

"That's fantastic, Penny!" Ruby smiled, "We were all really worried! Pyrrha will be so happy that-"

It was only then that the rest of Ruby caught up with that train of thought. Her face fell, and a black mood descended.

Suddenly, Blake cleared her throat.

"You know, I actually infiltrated Beacon after the fall. It wasn't easy getting past all the Grimm, but I managed. In addition to some personal effects and other items, I snagged the security tapes of the last day. I saw Pyrrha's fight with that woman, Cinder. I swear, if Cinder had been any less sure of herself and her fire powers, Pyrrha would have won."

"Small comfort," Jaune growled, knuckles white as he gripped the edge of his seat, "Why bring it up?"

"Because I'd seen those powers before."

Dead silence, and everyone looked at Blake with wide eyes.

"Well, not actually _seen_ seen," Blake explained, "But based upon what I saw, I made a connection to an old fairy tale, the Four Maidens."

"Hey, I remember that one," Ruby said, "Isn't that where a wizard gives four girls magical powers?"

"Basically, but I found something in the wreckage of the tower. I don't know if he wrote it or just annotated it, but I found a version of the story that went more in depth as to the powers, and it was in Ozpin's hand."

"Professor Ozpin?" came Weiss' stunned reply.

"Yeah, and Cinder's powers were practically ripped straight from the pages detailing the Fall Maiden."

"So a psychopath has crazy magic powers, what's your point?" asked Yang.

"Ruby, Weiss, how did Pyrrha die? The tapes at that point where too blurry, and I couldn't see all the details, but I have a hunch. I know you two went back for her and Jaune, so what happened?"

Weiss indicated to Ruby, explaining that they used the cliff-scale trick to get Ruby up the tower, and the younger girl took a few deep breaths before going on.

"I saw Pyrrha on her knees in front of Cinder. I saw an arrow sticking out of her upper chest. Then I saw Cinder lay her hand on Pyrrha's head, and then Pyrrha just…burned away. She turned to ash and scattered to the wind."

Blake nodded several times. Before anyone could reach out to the tearing-up Ruby, Blake spoke up again.

"That's not possible."

For the second time inside five minutes, Blake was pinned by wide-eyed stares.

"What?" asked Jaune.

"Fire doesn't work like that. Bodies catching on fire don't work like that. Trust me, I know."

Nora looked like she wanted to ask, but the glare Yang gave made her reconsider.

"Now, according to the journal, the Maidens could do a lot, but one of the few things they couldn't do was kill someone with their powers. It was likely a defensive measure to prevent someone with evil intentions from causing too much chaos with Maiden power. I'm not sure what happened to Pyrrha, but…"

"Wait," said Jaune, hope creeping into his voice, "You mean…she might be alive?!"

"I don't know," Blake shrugged, "The legends didn't say anything about ash, but it _could_ be that Pyrrha is alive, just…somewhere else. Without knowing where she is, though, we don't have anything to go on. _If_ she's alive, she's on her own."

Jaune just sat there staring at Blake for a moment before getting up, walking to the other side of the table, and giving her a hug.

"Thank you," he squeaked, tears starting to fall.

"Jaune, I'm honestly guessing at this point. Ozpin might be wrong about Maidens not being able to-"

"I have some hope. That's all I need right now."

Jaune broke off after a minute and sat back in his seat. Ren patted his shoulder lightly, a motion of male comforting. A silence fell, as everyone tried to digest this theory.

"We need to keep moving," Ruby said, finally speaking up, "Now that there are more of us, we have a better chance."

"Chance at what?" Penny asked.

"Haven is still waiting. Cinder is still out there, along with all the people who worked with her. A lot of people to be hurt and killed, just so she could get more power, and I don't think she's going to stop there. But none of us can do it alone. Together, we can help each other. Together, we are stronger. Together, we can be more. Together, we can avenge the wrongs done by Cinder and her little group of villains."

Ruby looked at everyone expectantly, and Yang chuckled.

"You really think you need to ask?"

Smiles slowly spread around the room, and Ren spoke up.

"I am reminded of an old adage amongst Hunters. It is said that, when a group of warriors have been together for long enough, they form a sort of bond. A bond deeper than friendship, and often deeper than blood. A bond not unlike a family, but one made by choice instead of by birth."

"Sounds about right," Yang nodded, pulling Ruby and Blake into a light hug with both arms. Blake ended up with the robot arm, but aside from a brief shake due to how cold it was, she accepted it without complaint. Judging by the way she leaned and her eyes softened, she actually found bit of joy in this.

"Well," Weiss began, looking thoughtful, "my mother is dead, my sister is out of contact for the most part, what uncles, aunts, or cousins I have are either dead or not worth mentioning, and my father…well-"

"Is a complete tool."

Everyone looked at Penny, shock and confusion the dominant emotions.

"What? I don't know everything about emotions and social cues, but I only met the man once, and I already have a solid opinion about him. That opinion is that _he is a tool_. If you want another word, I can access a thesaurus."

Everyone processed that for a moment before Ruby cleared her throat.

"Weiss, if you wanted us to be closer, like the family you always wanted, you could have asked."

Weiss looked at Ruby, face unreadable for a moment, but Ruby just looked right back, a soft smile on her face.

"All you have to do is get in on the group hug."

Weiss practically dove forward, wedging herself between Ruby and Yang. A soft 'yes please' could be heard from the mass of bodies.

Jaune and Ren smiled at the sight before Nora tackled them to the ground with a cry of "GLOMP!"

Penny, despite a part of her feeling left out, was all smiles.

"I think I'll like having friends…"

"I really only have one question," Jaune spoke up, pushing Nora off him, "This ship have a name? If it's going to be our home for the foreseeable future, it needs a name."

"Hang on, I think I saw some paint around here," Penny said, rummaging through the boxes in the hold, "Whatever we decide, we can put it on the side."

"Convenient," Blake and Ren deadpanned in unison.

"You know, I had wondered why that was on the manifest," Weiss added.

"Father has this funny habit of getting just what a person needs before they even know they need it," Penny said, "It used to drive me nuts, because I could never figure out how he did it."

"Maybe he's secretly psychic," Jaune joked.

"HE CAN SEE THE FUTURE!" Nora squealed, making Ren roll his eyes and look at her fondly.

 **oOo**

It took only a few minutes for the group to work out the paint and christen their ship the _Avenger_. After that, Penny put the vessel into lockdown mode, allowing them to sleep through the night without worry of another Grimm attack.

A jolt of phantom pain shook Yang awake, and she slowly sat up in her bed. The _Avenger_ had four rooms fit for sleeping in, as well as a fifth that Weiss had turned into a makeshift infirmary. They had split the room up between them, with Ruby and Yang, Jaune and Ren, Weiss and Blake, and Nora and Penny. Penny had been upfront in stating that she didn't sleep as often and didn't need a real room, but Weiss had had none of it and stuck the robotic girl with the bubbly berserker.

"You still have a cycle where you power down to recharge. Stop arguing and take the bed."

As Yang suppressed a chuckle over Weiss' strange new den mother tendencies, she noticed Ruby's bed was empty. Not bothering to put her arm on, she padded out of her room and took a look around the ship. The water closet was empty, as was the infirmary and the tiny kitchen that was only good for making food, not eating it. Yang found Penny in the hold, tinkering with something.

"Trying to figure out how we can stay in contact with each other," Penny explained when asked, "With the CCT practically useless, we'll need something other than scrolls."

"Oh. Hey, have you seen Ruby?"

"I saw her as I was exiting my recharge cycle. She headed toward the cockpit."

Nodding and thanking Penny, Yang headed upwards to the cockpit, finding Ruby sitting in one of the chairs and gazing out at the stars.

"Couldn't sleep, sis?"

"Too much swirling around in my head," Ruby replied.

"Don't think you're the only one," Yang said, taking a chair herself, "I think we're all still wired. A lot's happened in the past few days. Weiss cussed out her father and make a grand getaway with Penny, Blake came back, I got a new arm, and we're all together again, armed with a sweet new ride and the determination to rip evil a new one."

Ruby hummed in reply, and the two lapsed into silence for a while.

"But seriously Ruby, what're you thinking about?" Yang asked.

"It's just…for a while now, I felt so…lost. Everything was just so dark. The bad guys won, and a lot of people died, including good friends. But now, for the first time in a long time, I feel it again."

"Feel what?"

Ruby looked at her sister, and Yang could see a familiar sparkle, one that she only now realized had been missing before.

"HOPE. I can feel hope again."

 **oOo**

 **oOo**

 **oOo**

 **Epilogue:**

The young woman awoke in a desolate waste. Nothing but whites and grays as far as the eye could see. A wind occasionally blew, throwing up clouds of dust.

As if by reflex, she checked herself, finding everything in place from her body parts to her clothes. The only thing missing were her weapons and her circlet.

As she pondered where she was and what happened, it came flooding back to her.

" _Do you believe in destiny?"_

" _Yes."_

She gasped, feeling for a brief moment flashes of pain in her ankle and chest.

"But then, how am I alive?"

 **You aren't. Not quite.**

Her head jerked up at the voice and she looked around, but saw no one.

 **You are hovering. If you wish to survive, you must walk.**

"Walk where? I don't understand."

 **Walk. Walk for those who you left behind. Walk for your soul.**

For a moment, she just sat there, as the last few moments of her life flashed before her. Then it stretched further back. She could see family, friends, and one who might be more.

And, left with no other option, and with everyone she cared about in her mind, particularly one who she shared a tearful good-bye with…

Pyrrha Nikos stood up and began to walk…


End file.
